


Order Up

by SmoakinItUp



Series: Nothin' Like You [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-17
Updated: 2014-10-17
Packaged: 2018-02-21 14:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2470826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmoakinItUp/pseuds/SmoakinItUp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Work was always a bore.. until HE started showing up.<br/>Restaurant AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Order Up

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t own anything! Thanks for reading(:

“Table four is all yours Smoaky! And boy do they look like a ball of fun”, Sara warned as she navigated her way through the kitchen. 

“But we’re about to close!” Felicity couldn’t help but groan. She’d been on her feet all day with class and then work, and she still had to get home and study for her upcoming midterm. As necessary as it was to work part-time to stay afloat at MIT, it really did not seem worth it at times. Especially with some of the customers she had to deal with. 

Peeking her head over at table four, she took in her newest customers. And just her luck – they were having a couples spat. She knew how it would end; both would storm out unhappily and more importantly – leave a bad tip. With a sigh, she plastered a smile and tried to add some energy to her step as she made her way over. 

“Hey there! My name is Felicity and I’ll be your server for tonight. How is everyone doing?” She wanted to cringe at how cheesy she sounded, but her manager was around somewhere so she needed to stick by the book. Getting a closer look at the couple, she wanted to crawl back into bed. It should be illegal to be that attractive. The “boyfriend” seemed tall and well built from what she could see, and had a serious but handsome face, with piercing blue eyes that bore into her. To avoid the intensity in his look, she shifted her gaze to the equally attractive woman who was dressed to the nines, but with an expression that looked like she just swallowed a lemon. 

The silence was suffocating, and as soon as she realized that neither of them were going to respond, she kept going.

“Right. Well then. Can I get any drinks or appetizers started for you?” She decided to focus on her notepad rather than look at the tense couple as she waited for their response. 

“Cosmopolitan” was the woman’s curt reply. After a moments pause,  
“Whiskey on the rocks. Thank you”, came from the slightly more polite half of the couple. Though she was second-guessing his politeness as he continued to stare at her.

“I’ll give you a few more minutes with the menu and be right back with your drinks.” Felicity hightailed it towards the bar, desperate to get away from the pair, yet felt a pair of eyes following her the whole time. 

“Better make these good Roy. Seems like the couple needs a bit of happiness tonight” she said with a wink to her favorite bartender. They often had the same shifts and had bonded quickly by finding amusement in their clientele.

“I always make the best, Barbie. Is there a reason why the chick at table four is glaring at you like you just ran over her cat?”

Spinning around, her gaze locked with clearly pissed off woman. Shifting her gaze, she realized that the boyfriend was staring as well, though he had more of a smirk. Did she have something on her face?? What was going on?! 

“Is there something on my face? Do I have leftover crumbs from my snack break? Is my makeup messed up? Is there a spider on my face?!?” She whirled back around, desperate for an explanation for the couple’s apparent fascination with her. 

“Woah there, take a breath. You’re fine. Better than fine really. You can probably expect a nice tip tonight.” He smirked as he set the finished drinks in front of her. Too frazzled to interrogate Roy on what his last comment was supposed to mean, Felicity grabbed the drinks and headed back to the dreaded table. Of course since she had the best timing on the planet, the couple had decided to stop looking at her and moved on to arguing. Loudly. Not wanting to interrupt, Felicity quietly placed the drinks and moved to check out her other table when she thought she heard her name. 

“Well you’re giving plenty attention to that Felicity girl! All I want is some of your time. But you’re always at the office, or spending time with your family, or –“

“I’m here right now, aren’t I?” Sneaking a glance back over, she noticed that he had closed his eyes and was rubbing his forehead, as if trying to fight off a migraine. “What more do you want from me? You want nice things? Newsflash – I have to work so I can keep supplying them. Don’t act like you actually enjoy my company, you just want the perks of being my girlfriend. And I need you around so that it looks like I’m settling down. I thought we understood each other.” He opened his eyes and made a grab for his drink.

“Well understand this, Oliver. We. Are. Over!” She stood up, scraping the chair loudly against the floor and stormed out. All the while, Oliver simply shrugged, threw back his whiskey and pulled out his phone. Remembering to close her gaping mouth, Felicity turned to finish her last table before cautiously returning to “Oliver’s” table. 

“Umm.. Are you alright?” She finally found the guts to say, worried to see what kind of reaction he would have. She definitely wasn’t expecting for him to look up from his phone and give her a wide grin.

“Never been better. Now, about these steak entrees..” Felicity quickly bounced back from her shock at his nonchalance and switched into her food expert mode. After following all of her suggestions and placing his order, he rested his chin on his folded hands and managed to throw her for another loop.

“So how has your day been?”

“What? I mean- it’s been good. Actually I guess I take that back. My classes are killing me and I’m so close to graduation I can taste it, and then after I graduate I can get an actual job that uses my brain and I can get out of here and never have to deal with crazy customers again. Not that you’re a crazy customer! I’ve definitely seen way worse breakups! Oh my gosh, that was so insensitive, I’m SO sorry, I’m just gonna” she made a dramatic motion of zipping her lips shut, “well, I should probably put your order in. So, bye.”

Turning back towards the kitchen, she heard his low chuckle. Goddamn, his eyes were so distracting she couldn’t hold in her babble. At least he seemed entertained by it, so he probably wouldn’t complain to the manager. Though she probably shouldn’t have complained about her customers to another customer.. Deciding not to focus on the handsome stranger, she went about the rest of her night trying to function normally. 

After delivering the food to Oliver, Felicity continued on with her nightly duties, only checking in with him when necessary in order to avoid more embarrassment. Luckily, by closing time, it seemed that most of her tables were good to go. Dropping off all the checks, Felicity decided to save Oliver’s for last. Considering he had a pretty rough night yet still managed to be kind, she quickly wrote a note on his check.

“Thanks for stopping by! Have a nice night ☺” Not too cheesy, right? He could use a reason to smile, she thought to herself. But what if it made her look desperate? She wasn’t into him! She just wanted to see him smile again. No. She was overthinking it. She was never going to see him again, so she should just breathe. She braced herself and marched over to his table. She placed the check down in front of him, and just like she hoped, he looked right back at her with a heart-stopping smile. Before she could scurry back to the kitchen, he put his hand on her arm, his warmth seeping through her sleeves. 

“Thank you. And sorry about all the drama you had to witness tonight.” He said, his smile reaching his eyes.

“It was no problem! I’m glad I could offer my services.” A blush immediately lit up her face. “My food services. I mean my knowledge about food. Not that I know everything about all foods.. just ours.” His smile didn’t waver, and Felicity couldn’t help but respond with one of her own. “I’ll see you around, Oliver.” Walking away, she wanted to slap herself. She used his name! He probably thought she was a major creep! The chances of seeing him around were zip to none after that blunder. Ugh she just really needed a good TV marathon tonight. Looking back around, she realized that Oliver had left. She chose to ignore the twinge of disappointment she felt, focusing on the thought that he probably couldn’t wait to get out of here. 

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she continued on with her work, her thoughts drifting off to her cozy bed, and then to the test she had coming up in a week. She nearly missed the note, thinking it was another piece of garbage until she saw the neatly written message.

“See you around, Felicity” was all it said, and as if the note on the back of the receipt wasn’t enough, Felicity almost fainted when she saw the 50% tip he had left her. Grinning, she pocketed the tip, excited by the thought of seeing her new favorite customer again. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Girl, how did you do it?!” Sara cornered her with a sly smile as soon as she clocked in. 

“I didn’t do it!” Felicity exclaimed, frozen in place. “Wait. What didn’t I do?” Pushing up her glasses, Felicity tried to think if she had done anything recently that would have warranted such a reaction. She hadn’t hacked anything in awhile.. 

“Oliver Queen is dining in our fine establishment tonight, and he specifically requested you.” Sara was practically bouncing on her toes, completely estatic about the news. “ You’re gonna get some tonight” she sang, doing a little dance. 

“Hold up, Oliver Queen? As in Queens Consolidated? As in, how in the world would I know Oliver Queen?” Felicity asked, flabbergasted. “And why would he want me??” She blinked at Sara, trying to figure out if she had woken up in an alternate reality that morning. 

“Doesn’t even matter, just get your nametag on and get. Out. There! Prince Charming is waiting for you!” Felicity couldn’t hold back a snort.

“I’m about as far from a princess as you could get, Sara.” Felicity retorted. She finished getting ready and tightened her ponytail. “Alright, lets see this Mr. Oliver Queen” Peeking out the door, her heart nearly stopped. Sitting at the same table as at last time, was Oliver. Oliver Queen. Of course. How did she miss the connection? 

It had been about a month since she saw him last. She might have spent the first two weeks after daydreaming about his eyes, but after not seeing him again, she had convinced herself to forget it. He wasn’t coming back around. Until, of course, now. Looking at his company, she realized he was with another man, roughly about the same age. They were both dressed in suits and looked quite serious as they discussed. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, Felicity made her way over to table four. 

Before she could even welcome them, Oliver was turning to look at her with a grin that made her legs feel like jello.

“Hello Felicity,” She enjoyed the way his voice said her name before shaking herself out of it. This was Oliver Queen. Billionaire. Upcoming CEO. He had no time for little ol’ her. But still, she couldn’t hold back her shy smile.

“Welcome back, Mr. Queen” She hoped being formal with him would remind her to keep her thoughts in line. If she didn’t know any better, she could’ve sworn she saw a flash of disappointment cross his face before he hid it with another smile, though it was noticeably smaller than before. “We haven’t seen you in awhile. I wasn’t sure you’d be coming back. Not that I was waiting or looking for you or anything! Just.. an observation.” She ended, positive her face was ripe with embarrassment. 

“I would have been back sooner but work in China called. Don’t worry, now that I’m back you won’t be able to get rid of me” He added a wink and Felicity was close to swooning. Thankfully a cough broke up the pair’s focus, and she turned to look at the other smirking gentleman. 

“And I’m Tommy, this idiot’s best friend. I can see why Ollie was so insistent on coming here for lunch” Well weren’t these two a pair of charmers, thought Felicity, not fighting back her giggle, amused at Tommy’s antics but also Oliver’s glare.

“What can I say, I have great taste” Oliver finally responded, throwing another grin at Felicity. Great taste in food? Great taste in woman? Trying to distract herself from his confusing words, she got back to work. After helping them with their orders, she made it back to the kitchen, afraid of the interrogation from Sara she knew was waiting. 

“So? You got a date or what?” Just as she had suspected, Sara was waiting just behind the door, ready for some answers. 

“I really have no idea what you’re talking about Sara. He’s just hungry, and I’m just doing my job. It’s just luck that he’s come in while I’m on shift really.” At that, Sara shuffled her feet together guiltily. Fiddling with her pen, she admitted, 

“Well actually, he may have called earlier.” Trying to avoid Felicity’s gaze, Sara moved towards the kitchen door, making her escape. “And I might have given him your schedule. Don’t kill me, I love you lots!” She shouted back as she nearly sprinted out the doors. 

Stunned, Felicity didn’t move for a few seconds, trying to digest the newest information. Oliver Queen was specifically asking for her. And eating during her shifts. Did he pity her? Did she look like she needed more tips? Or was there a miniscule chance that maybe he had felt some kind of connection..? Shaking her head, Felicity got back to work. None of it mattered. She wasn’t Cinderella, and she wasn’t counting on some guy to sweep her off her feet. She had her computers and she honestly was perfectly happy with life. 

She went on to work the rest of the night, occasionally exchanging banter with her favorite table four. By the end of the night, it seemed she had made friends out of Oliver and Tommy. As she watched them leave, she couldn’t help but look forward to the next time he’d be walking in through their doors. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She didn’t have to wait long for his return. For the next two months, Oliver came to dine at least once a week, without fail. He always sat in her section, and he always managed to make her smile. Their banter and flirting was her favorite part of coming into work, and she learned something new about him every week. But as much as she enjoyed his company, she knew it would never progress. He was Oliver Queen, and she was just Felicity Smoak. She knew she was pretty great person, hard working and smart, even if she did tend to babble.. But she and Oliver ran in different circles, hell, different universes really. So she welcomed his friendship, and ignored the butterflies that came whenever she saw his blue eyes..

“Thank you so much Felicity! You saved my life!” Sara exclaimed as she planted a kiss on Felicity’s cheek.

“Yeah yeah, you know you owe me big time. But honestly? I’m kinda glad I have a night off,” Felicity smiled as she released her hair from her usual pony tail. She couldn’t wait to dig into her mint chip and reacquaint herself with her Netflix account. As she swung the kitchen door open, she heard the voice she had come to know so well.

“Thea, we really don’t have to eat here, weren’t you craving some sa-“ 

“Ollie you come here all the time! I wanna see whats so great about it for myself,” A feminine voice cut in, and Felicity felt her stomach drop. She hadn’t seen Oliver with another woman since his first time coming in, only coming in either alone or with business associates. Was he here on a date?

Walking into view, she saw the pair waiting to be seated. Not wanting to meet his new girlfriend, she figured she would sneak her way out. Until of course, Roy had to ruin it. 

“Ey Barbie!” He hollered from behind the bar. She whipped around and made sure to send a glare that would send most men running in fear. But before she could even respond, she felt a warm hand on her elbow. 

“Felicity?”

Plastering on a smile, she readied herself for introductions.

“Oliver! What are you doing here? Wait. Don’t answer that. You’re here to eat, because that’s what people do at restaurants. So.. enjoy your food!” Before she could make her escape, she felt pressure on her arm and belatedly realized Oliver still had her in his grasp.

“Wait, Felicity. I- I thought you were working?” She blushed as she realized that he did in fact know her schedule. 

“Yeah, I usually work this shift, but Sara had an emergency earlier so we switched for the day…”

“Ahh.. that’s too bad. I mean- that was nice of you. I hope you enjoy your night off,” He rubbed the back of his neck as if he was nervous, and Felicity couldn’t hold off a goofy smile. 

“I can see why you like it here so much, Ollie,” The brunette cut in, shocking the pair out of their staring contest. “Since it seems he’s a little out of his wits right now, I guess I’ll just introduce myself. I’m Thea Queen. Felicity, is it?” Queen. As in, Oliver’s little sister. Felicity could only blink, surprised at Thea’s wide smile. “Since you’re off work, why don’t you come join us?”

“Oh no, I couldn’t intr-“

“It wouldn’t be an intrusion at all! Ollie and I live in the same house. Trust me, I don’t need any more personal time with him. Besides, you guys are friends, right? Friends join friends for lunch! So really, I won’t take no for an answer,” As Thea linked elbows with Felicity, the blonde threw a look of helplessness at Oliver, only for him to shrug his shoulders. 

“It’ll be nice to finally eat with you,” He said with a chuckle as they were led to their table. Her nerves finally managed to settle once she realized how easy it was to talk to them. Her babbling clearly entertained the siblings, and she was pleasantly surprised at how down to earth the young billionaires were. Before she even realized it, three hours had passed and it was nearly closing time. Thea had given them some time alone as she made her move on Roy, though Felicity first had to assure Oliver that he was a stand up guy. 

She was pulled out of her thoughts as she felt Oliver’s hand settle over hers. Looking into his eyes, she gave a shy smile, which he returned with a toothy grin. 

“Would you like to have dinner with me?” Felicity froze, not sure if she was reading him correctly.

“I’m pretty sure that’s what we just did Oliver,” She said, laughing it off. He couldn’t possibly be asking her..

“I meant some other time. Preferably without my baby sister.” He chuckled nervously and Felicity thought she would explode with happiness (and nerves).

“I’d love to. I have Friday night off?” Did she sound too eager? It was just dinner between friends. Emphasis on the friends she told herself. 

“Friday night is perfect, I’ll pick you up at 7.” 

“Great! It’s a date – I mean, not a date date.,. cause that’s jus–“

“Felicity, it is definitely a date date.” Charmed by his happy smile, Felicity couldn’t hold herself back, leaning across the table and pecking his cheek. She pulled back, blushing, but not regretting it as she saw the sparkle in his eyes. Friday couldn’t come faster. 

Lost in each other, she barely even heard the “FINALLY!” that came from both the bar and kitchen.


End file.
